Dark Paradise
by E. Lovett
Summary: Lana Tyree, Queen of Amalthea, requests Darth Vader's help. He recalls the events happening shortly after the fall of the Republic, giving him reason to lend her his aid. Her planet ends up ruined, giving her no choice but to stay by the Dark Lord's side.
1. Chapter 1

**I**

"_My Lord, I am truly ashamed of this request, but I have no alternative. The rebels have infiltrated and taken over the royal palace of Amalthea. I believe that they are after the Death Star's technical schematics that were sent to my engineers several days ago. I am trying my best to keep them hidden._

_My people suspect nothing, this whole attack has been kept hidden not to create panic, I believe. The rebels do not seem to have any interest in conquering the planet; my most trusted men, as well as myself, have been replaced by decoys. We are being threatened to be killed if we do not surrender the schematics. _

_Therefore, I request your help. I am the only one who knows where they are being kept, so I do not fear they will be discovered without my knowledge. However, what I fear is death. I do not know how many they are, but I think my army could easily defeat them. Unfortunately, I find myself in the incapability to contact my generals. I think they have been taken hostages as well. _

_Once again, I am incredibly– _"

The message ended abruptly. Silence dominated the place several minutes, as both men that had watched it were pondering.

"My Lord, do you think it is a trap? Queen Tyree seems suspiciously calm, and gives too much information, some even useless," Admiral Rogriss said, still looking at the place where the hologram of a young woman used to be. Next to him stood the Dark Lord of the Sith, _Darth Vader_ himself, arms crossed, also facing the same spot.

"The calmness is in her nature," was all he said, before he turned around and hastily walked away. Admiral Rogriss watched his figure fade in the distance, as well as the sinister sound of his mechanical breathing. He sighed.

* * *

The Empire had taken over the palace. Bodies of several rebels were scattered along the floor, in the hallways, meeting chambers, bedrooms. The imperial troops were encircling a group of people, all of them tied together to a pillar, in the middle of the throne room. Their faces were covered, hindering them to see what was happening.

Darth Vader approached. The troopers were waiting for his orders. "Release the woman."

One of the troopers walked towards the only female-looking body and removed the cloth covering her face. Her face was covered by bruises, one of her eye being slightly darkened and the remains of dried blood were clear on her lips. The trooper untied her gently, as she tried to keep herself steady on her feet. She was offered help, but denied it with a smile and a slight wave of her hand.

The Sith lord took several steps towards her, realizing she could not move because of her injuries. "Tyia," he spoke her name. Her eyes widened.

"Excuse me, my Lord," she said between coughs. "My name is Lana..." It seemed as if she wanted to continue, but her voice trailed off. Her eyes were fixed on Vader's boots, too afraid to face anyone. Suddenly, she coughed several times, as she felt her throat burn. Looking up, she figured it was Vader's doing. He was holding one finger in the air, curling it as she felt the burning intensify. "My... Lord...," she tried to protest, but with no result.

"Impostor!" he groaned, as her skin colour started to change, slowly. It turned to green, her blonde hair turned to black. "Shoot her!" he ordered, letting go and turning his back to her. All troopers aimed for the creature laying defenceless on the floor, struggling between life and death. They hesitated. "Shoot her, I said!" came his order again. This time there was no hesitation.

He had made his way to the balcony. The Queen had been wrong. The planet had been attacked. Most of the buildings had caught fire, some were still smoking. What had become of that planet? Absolutely nothing. His men had reported that there were no survivors.

"My Lord!"

A voice interrupted his chain of thoughts. He turned around to face Admiral Rogriss. "What is it, Admiral?" he asked.

"I believe you should have left the changeling alive. We will never find the Queen this way. She may not even be alive anymore."

He turned his back to him, watching the smoke arise from the destroyed city. "She is very much alive. I can sense that." The admiral didn't ask him how he could feel it, and decided to remain in silence. He waited for new orders, but they didn't come. Darth Vader seemed captivated by the desolating scenery, and lost in his own thoughts.

Several moments passed in silence, the only thing heard being Vader's heavy breaths. The silence was interrupted by one of the troopers, rushing towards them. "Admiral!" Rogriss turned around. "We believe we have found someone in the basement, but the body is buried deep into a pile of rocks that seems to have fallen over him or her... I don–" he stopped talking when Vader turned around and faced him.

"Take me to that place," he ordered.

* * *

One by one, he removed every rock slowly, using the Force. His men stood behind him, carrying the rocks away. The body of a young woman could be easily distinguished between the rocks. He made sign to the troopers to remove the small rocks that had remained. The woman started to shakily move her limbs. She moaned in pain, as she tried to stand, but failed miserably. Her knees eventually betrayed her and she collapsed to the floor. Darth Vader approached, holding out his hand to help her get back up. She looked at it, but shook her head.

"I cannot stand up yet," was all she said, between moans of pain and coughs of blood. He straightened himself and walked away.

"Give her medical care and take her to _The Exactor_. Put her to sleep first. She will certainly protest if you do not," he silently ordered one of his men, so she could not hear him.

"Yes, sir."

He eventually vanished into the darkness of the basement, as the clone walked towards the woman laying on the floor. "Are you alright, lady...?"

She looked at him and said with a cracked but annoyed voice, "Queen Lana Tyree, if you wouldn't mind." He nodded, but was visibly taken aback by her boldness. "I am fine. This blasted pile of rock fell over me while I was trying to run from the attackers. They had apparently put bombs in the... basement...," she continued, her voice trailing off when the trooper tried to hide the syringe he had been given. "What are you doing?" she asked, trying to crawl away from him, but with no success, since he had already grabbed her arm. "STOP! Answer me!"

"I am sorry, my Queen. Orders."

She tried to pull away her arm, but his grip was too tight and she was too weakened. It had been a miracle she had even resisted that long. She saw the needle pierce her skin, and the serum inside it disappearing. Her arm was released, and she tried to stand. She managed, for two or three seconds, but then collapsed into the arms of one of Vader's men.

"Take her to _The Exactor_."

* * *

**Note:**

**Amalthea **is a small planet, located near Coruscant. More details (use, appearance) are going to be revealed through the story.

**The Exactor **was Darth Vader's first flagship. I originally used _The Executor, _but later realized it would have been under construction at that time.


	2. Chapter 2

**II**

He was standing in the control room, watching the destroyed planet Amalthea. He had been contemplating it for quite a while, before somebody interrupted him. It was Admiral Rogriss, covered in sweat and pouting.

"Lord Vader, Queen Tyree is now awake," he announced through heavy breaths. Vader did not show any sign that he had received the message, making Rogriss consider repeating himself. Just when he opened his mouth to make sure he had heard him, Vader turned around and walked away. The bridge crew stopped doing what they were assigned for some moments, as they carefully watched the dark lord exit the control room. Rogriss noticed the interruption, and commanded them to continue their work.

Passing many hallways, Darth Vader finally arrived to the medical section. The door opened without him making any effort. He walked inside, only to see the young woman quarrel with every droid in the room, questioning her treatment as a prisoner. She eventually noticed him and calmed down, but continued her speech.

"Lord Vader!" she exclaimed, with an annoyed tone. "What is the meaning of this? Why am I strapped to this table?" Her arm and legs were, indeed, restrained by chains attached to the table. Approaching, he made sign to the droids to release her. They obeyed, and she immediately sat on the table. She felt too dizzy to stand up.

He placed himself right in front of her, so she had to look up to see what was supposed to be his face. "It is quite a pity it had to come to this, but I knew you would put up a fight. An unnecessary fight," he began his speech, hands on hips.

"Why didn't you let me stay?" she simply asked, frowning and trying to get to the main point. For some moments, all that could be heard was his mechanical breathing and the occasional beeping of the droids surrounding them.

"Your planet has been destroyed."

Her eyes widened in awe as she tried to stand up. Unfortunately, her body still seemed too heavy, so she found herself in the sitting position again. The shock was overwhelming. An immense pain started to make its presence noticed in the back of her head. "Destroyed? But the rebels never intended to take over anything else than the palace!" she protested. Darth Vader turned his back at her and walked away, pacing through the room and casually checking the machines in the chamber.

"Amalthea was not destroyed by the rebels, as my troopers have informed me." He paused. "It seems they had formed an alliance with a small group of people from the inside... they eventually came to an agreement. The rebels would take the schematics, and the planet would be surrendered to those people." She followed him with her eyes around the room. His black cloak fluttered elegantly behind him as his heavy steps echoed from one end of the chamber to the other. She thought about that group of people. Could it have been...?

"My brother's men," she stated. "Mair, Garok, Sar... everyone! They were after the same thing. They passed as trustworthy and...," her voice grew lower as her realisation grew bigger. Suddenly, she remembered her one and only handmaiden, "Tyia! Is Tyia safe?" she asked. Vader stopped and turned to face her. She became aware of the fact that his words would hurt her.

"Tyia is dead. She was part of the alliance. She took your form during the attack." They hit her like stones. She covered her opened mouth with her right hand, as he continued, "It seems their plan was to frame your death."

"My death? Why would they need to frame my death?"

"They wanted to make it seem that the rebels had attacked. Only the rebels." He paused again, looking for the woman's reaction. "They would call for the Empire's help after the rebels would have fled with the schematics, and eventually elect a new queen or... king." Suddenly, her shoulders relaxed and her eyes took back their normal shape. She let her hand fall beside her, on the table.

"I have been blind all this time."

Her shock turned into acceptance. She looked at the floor, sighing repeatedly. It was just too hard to believe; how can you own a paradise and such evil creatures just want to destroy it? How could people pass so innocent, so nice to you... how could people fake friendship? Tyia was her best confident. She had kept her secrets all along. They had gone through the worst times of her ruling together, even if it had been just a short period of two years. Why did Tyia have to be one of them? She could understand the others. She never really liked them that much anyway. But...

_Why, Tyia? What did they offer that I did not? Why must I be surpassed by such scum? _

"You have always been too soft," Vader said, waking her up from the trance she had put herself in. She searched for his silhouette, but only glanced the end of his cloak escaping through the door. It closed behind him with a loud noise. Or so it seemed for her, who was still half asleep. She sighed and rested her forehead inside her palms, taking deep breaths.

All was lost.

Her kingdom, everything she had ever wanted. Her paradise, it was lost. Destroyed. She was nobody. Again... she had no importance, to no one. Why was fate mocking her that way? Giving her all she needed and wanted, and then just taking it back. It had been the second time. She lay back on the table, deciding she had to wait to be able to walk again. She stared at the ceiling and remembered it all...

Meanwhile, in the control chamber, Darth Vader was watching over Amalthea again, reminiscing the reason he became so involved in that matter.

* * *

_Two years earlier_

His TIE had been hit. The temperature inside increased because of the engine catching fire, but his suit could still protect him from that. The air did not need to be breathable, either. He could resist in space, but not long enough. The Star Destroyer had been crushed. All of that because of the incompetence of a young general. Cursing him in his mind, he decided the best thing to do would be to land. But where? The fight was taking place near...

"Tatooine," he grumbled. As soon as he sighted the planet, one of the enemy ships appeared in front of him. He cursed himself for not having noticed it. It was too late to fire or avoid it. It was too late.

The back of his fighter exploded, damaging the flat filter on his back. A whistle accompanied his regulated breathing, as he started to feel dizzy. The enemy placed itself in attack position in front of him. It was going to fire. He had to escape. But he could hardly breathe, let alone move. He saw the cannons charge and...

The starfighter exploded in front of him. Pieces of it flew by his TIE, as smoke covered the scene.

Was it the Force? No...

A ship, double the size of his TIE Advanced x1, cleared the smoke caused by the destruction of the enemy starfighter. He could not see who was piloting it, but the transmitter intercepted a message. He picked it up.

"Follow me, we'll get you fixed."

He could not answer, but moved the controls using the force. He could resist a little bit longer. Did he have a choice, after all?

* * *

She descended her starfighter hastily, stumbling across the stairs, as she headed for the damaged TIE. It was the first one of that kind she had ever seen, even though the Empire had dispatched some fighters not a long time earlier. Even though she had studied TIEs in detail, she could not figure out how to enter this one. She ran to the main viewport to see if the person inside was fine. But she could not see anything, since the window was all blurry and dark.

Suddenly, it shattered into pieces. Smoke came out of it, as she reached for the man inside. She could not see his face, but distinguished his arms and legs and pulled him out. She lay him on the floor. His face was still not visible, due to a big helmet covering his head. She did not know whether she should remove it or not. That was when she realized the sound of heavy, mechanical breathing. Somehow, it did not sound alright.

"My back." The body moved. Her eyes were fixed on him, but her mind had frozen. She was scared, but intrigued in the same time. "The filter on my back... fix it." His tone was imposing, as if it weren't him in the helpless situation. But she did as ordered.

She turned him around and pushed the cloak aside. Several wires had been cut off, and the filter was completely destroyed. "I don't know if I've got something like this...," she started, but stopped when she noticed his hand point to the TIE.

He did not speak, but she figured out she would find what she needed there. She did indeed, and successfully fixed the flat filter. After seeing he could move normally, and did not need any care, she put the tools used back into his TIE, as he stood up. She heard a weird vibrating sound, and she turned around only to see a red lightsaber pointed to her nose.

"What is your name, young woman?"

Her heart stopped. "L-Lana."

The man moved the lightsaber lower, to her neck, and started motioning it from one end of her neck to the other, continuing his interrogation, "Whose side are you on?"

His voice made shivers run down her spine. "The Empire's." He did not ask anything anymore, as if he was waiting for confirmation of her words. She felt her head get a little bit dizzy, but ignored it. "Is that how you, imperial troopers, treat your saviours?" she asked, fearing it sounded too bold. The man straightened his back.

_Oh no. It was too bold._

"Imperial trooper?" he repeated her words, sounding amused. She raised her eyebrows and shook her head, as if asking what was wrong. He had been in a TIE after all. Wasn't he supposed to be an imperial trooper? Maybe she was wrong claiming she was on the Empire's side. "Do you not know who I am?" his question came. She swallowed and shook her head again, this time mimicking negation. He retired his lightsaber, and she relaxed her tense body. However, fear was still consuming her.

"I am Darth Vader."

Her body tensed again and her eyes widened.

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you very much for your support! I promise I will try not to let you down!

I kind of want to focus on the human side of Vader in this story, but still keep his killing-machine attitude. Please let me know if you think I have fcked up his personality too much, for I will gladly correct that.


	3. Chapter 3

**III**

Her body tensed again and her eyes widened.

_Darth Vader?_ she asked herself. _The Dark Sith Lord?_

She had heard stories about him, but not many. However, the few ones she had heard were terrifying. Several shivers ran down her spine. His figure was so bold, so confident. He was analysing her, his thumbs resting on his belt. The sound of his mechanical breathing was the only thing heard, since she was afraid to make any noise, almost even too afraid to breathe.

But she regained her normal self soon enough, after having realized that he could have killed her a long time ago if he had wanted to. He could have killed her when she raised her voice and complained about her treatment. She relied on that to keep herself calm and not panic.

"What you did out there was rather impressive," he spoke, breaking the silence. Even though she had controlled her fear, she could not bring herself to talk. For that reason, she simply thanked his compliment by nodding. "...but dangerous, nonetheless. Especially with such a primitive machine as yours."

She blinked a few times, before realizing he was talking about her ship. Yes, it was indeed a very old model, but she had made improvements to it by herself. She noted his weird way with words; not having heard people speak standard for a long time, she was not used to formal ways of speaking anymore. Tatooine was not really the place for 'nobility' or high-class people.

"It's not as if I had something to lose..." she said, looking at her ship. "I've actually been looking for various methods of dying gloriously." She looked back at him and noticed how weird that phrase had sounded to her.Had she managed to imitate 'education'?

"And what would the reason for that be?"Vader asked. She shrugged and turned around, lazily walking towards a bench at the other end of the room.

Her phrase had formed inside her head. "I prefer that to dying as an insignificant slave!" she said, louder, and studied the ceiling. He had not followed her. She sat on the bench, folding her legs towards her body. Vader walked around the hangar, as if searching for something. Not wanting to interrupt him, she watched him in silence. He did not bother to ask her, so she did not feel the need to help him. Somehow, it was amusing to see him walk around so nonchalantly, inspecting.

The gate to her starfighter opened in front of him. She narrowed her eyes, thinking her mind was playing her tricks. But no, there he stood, waiting for the gate to open and casually just walking inside. _How did he do that?_ she asked herself. It had been locked, she was sure of that.

Not many moments passed until Vader exited. "I have used the transmitter on your ship to communicate my coordinates to the Empire."

The woman rolled her eyes. "Oh, you're welcome," she added sarcastically, but realized immediately that her rudeness had irritated him, as she closed her mouth. The heavy steps he took towards her only contributed to assure her of that feeling. He stopped in front of her.

"You do have an enormous death wish, I observe."

The tension was growing, but she did not dare say one word. She had already done enough to book herself a free ticket to Hell. He tilted his head to the side and rose two fingers in front of her. Then he stopped suddenly. "However, I am not going to grant you it."

He turned around and walked towards the edge of the hangar. It was hidden in a cliff, watching over Mos Eisley. She smirked, having found and regained power over her voice. "Why not?" Insisting did not sound like a good idea, but like she had said before... what did she have to lose? Unfortunately, her question was completely ignored by Vader, who was standing at the margin of the platform, gazing over the 'armpit of the galaxy', as the settlement used to be called.

"Who do you serve?" he asked, after several moments of silence.

Her face pinched in concentration as the image of her master invaded her mind. "Voroll Pohar, merchant." He was a tall, imposing man. Or that was the general impression he liked to give. She had spied several times on him, and also caught him in some of his better days, showing her signs of kindness sometimes. Her job was just to clean his home, prepare meals and deal with his annoying 3-years old son. Kiandra, his wife, had died during childbirth. "He's a sad man," she said, more as to herself.

"Your master does not treat you with brutality, yet you prefer to die than serve him?" Darth Vader had turned around to face her before asking the question. It made her feel somewhat ridiculous.

It took a while for her to find the right words. They kept slipping everytime she had to explain herself. Meanwhile, her conversation partner began slowly stepping towards her, again. She talked only after he had stopped walking. "Judging by the way I got here in the first place... yes. Take a seat." A miserable failure of trying to be polite, since the words came out as if she had been blackmailed to do it. Even so, he ignored her invitation as he had done with her gutsy question.

The silence was a sign she ought to have started her story. "Tatooine is not my home planet. I was not born here... I was born on Amalthea, as legal successor of the throne. My mother's throne. We were the Tyree dynasty." Her eyes had wandered around the hangar, trying to find her words, but she stopped. She wanted to see the Dark Lord's expression, but his mask made it impossible. "My older brother was avid of power, and jealous of me. He... he knew I would become the next Queen. He also knew that he could be passed my place only in case I died. I was only ten years old when he lured me to go on a 'trip' with him."

Pause. She was unsure whether she should have given more details, or mention that Amalthea could only be ruled by a queen. Oh, how she sucked at telling stories.

"Continue."

"He took me here and sold me to the first person that crossed his path. I did not realize that until I watched him leave with his spaceship..."

No sign of continuation was offered by her, giving Vader the occasion to intrude with a question, "And your mother had nothing to say about it?"

"I don't think she ever found out. M-My brother sold me for...," her voice trailed off. It was too morbid, and it made her feel horrible. However, she found the strength to continue, "He sold me for a corpse. He probably incinerated it so it wouldn't be recognized anymore... a-and told everybody I died in an accident"

They both pondered on the story. She was trying her best to keep any emotion away from herself, and also keep a neutral expression. There was no point in trying to impress Big Heavy Breather, especially not by acting like a weakling. She had gotten used to her situation, and had stopped crying on it a long time ago. Simply, there was no way of escaping her destiny.

Silence invaded the hangar again. Her gaze was directed to the floor, not wanting to meet his. It was a shameful story. A story of decadence. However, Vader was conscious that his situation was also shameful. How would he like the galaxy know he had almost been defeated in a battle, and saved by a mere slave on Tatooine? He had been known to be fearful. People should fear him. Failure was not supposed to be associated with him for no reason.

"I propose a deal," his determined voice broke the silence.

She raised her eyes in confusion, and met the blackness of his mask. "What... deal?" her voice came out shaky.

"You shall not mention my failure in that battle ever again, and I shall help you regain your throne."

After having swallowed and digested the information, she blinked a few times. "You know, it would be simpler to just kill me."

Well, that had been stupid. But it was the truth.

"I have already told you I am not going to grant you that death wish."

The conversation seemed awfully out of place. She started to feel uneasy, and confusion grew wider and wider in her mind. Why in the world would he do that? The need to repeat the question ignored earlier visited her, but she repelled it. "I cannot understand why you would do that."

He bent so she would stare directly into the blackness of his mask. The sound of his breathing was terribly frightening that loud. Every detail could be heard. He slightly tilted his head to the side, making her understand she had started to get on his nerves. "Amalthea is close to Coruscant. The Empire could make use of it."

Questions started to appear. Why didn't he want to kill her? It would have been the most simple solution, and most particular to him, judging by those stories she had heard about him. Did he feel the need to reward her? After all, how could he be sure she wouldn't say anything about her saving him? It is human nature to brag about something, and after all... only 'dead men told no tales'.

An imperial shuttle had been dispatched and landed near her ship and his destroyed TIE fighter. Several men, who she later found out were the real stormtroopers, filled the hangar and escorted the Dark Lord inside. Two of them had grabbed her by her wrists and forced her to walk inside. Somehow, she felt more like a prisoner than a future queen.

The engines started, and the men holding her forced her to stay behind Vader. She started to inquire everything, casting her eyes upward. Why did he believe her? How did he know she had told the truth? Hadn't it been too easy? _Maybe I'm dreaming_, she thought.

"You're not," Vader murmured. Her mouth slightly opened in awe.

_Oh. So that's how._

Turning her head to the windows beside her, the destination ship could be sighted. An enormous, arrow-like ship. It was the biggest thing she had ever seen.


	4. Chapter 4

**IV**

Lana opened her eyes and stared at the metallic ceiling of the medical lab. She recalled how Vader had arranged for her to be sent back to Amalthea and be proclaimed Queen. It had been weird to watch her brother being imprisoned, but learning that he had poisoned their parents just to obtain the throne faster had caught her ridiculously off-guard. She had spent three weeks mourning at their grave, promising she would bring glory to their planet, and not disappoint them.

During her childhood, she used to be very attached to them, especially her mother, since her father would spend most of his time with Zaran, her brother. It was natural. She had to learn from her mother everything to truly deserve to inherit the throne. However, she had not had the time to learn many things.

Her mother was, as she recalled, very clumsy, but ridiculously protective of her. During her short reign, Lana had checked the royal archives, to find out more about her mother, Lierra, and what had happened to her planet after Lana had been kidnapped. She liked to look at recordings of her mother, examining every physical detail. Royalties on Amalthea were very extravagant, women used to dye her hair in many different colours, and arrange it in strange ways that probably had taken hours to conceive. Clothes were, however, more conservative. One important feature in Amalthean dresses were the pointy necklines, extending very much to the sides, sometimes making the woman wearing it look as if she had wings. Simple colours were used, but they would often accessorize heavily.

Lana had always kept a simple way of arranging her hair, too. She considered too much effort was being put into it, and there were a lot of things that could be done in the meantime. Some people considered she was breaking tradition, but eventually she had to hold a speech regarding that, to clarify her reasons. She promised to be more attentive and make time for traditional clothing as well.

Yet there she was, aboard _The Exactor_, her planet brought to ashes and completely destroyed by her most trusted men. There was a strange feeling to know someone could carry so much hatred in themselves to conceive a plan to destroy a whole planet. Of course, Amalthea was not really big, and it was a lot like Coruscant – a city planet – so it would not have been impossible to do.

But how cruel had it been? And most of all, how naïve could she have been?

She shook her head in an attempt to shake her self-pity off, and sat. The dizziness had disappeared, and she was able to stand again. Sighing, she threw several glares at the droids that were processing her actions. She walked towards the door and tried opening it.

"Access denied."

Pinching her eyebrows, she tried again. Same answer.

_Oh, that's just great, _she thought and rolled her eyes. The glance thrown at the droids confirmed that they would be of no help. They had been designed to stay in that lab and that was all. However, there had to be a way to exit. How had Vader done it? He hadn't even moved a finger.

She was not accustomed to that kind of technology. Not that people on Amalthea were primitive or did not use it, but she had kept the design in her palace as simple as possible. Other persons would consider having to touch the door to make it open irritating, but she did not like to be consumed by the laziness that technology had offered people. Everything was made by droids, everything was automatic...

Droids. She despised droids.

Still, she had no choice. "Hey, you!" she shouted, walking after a 2-1B medical droid. It stopped. "Open this door for me."

"Action not permitted."

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" she spat, noticing it had turned around and was directing to some kind of hole in the wall. It put itself into sleep mode the moment it touched the edge. She felt her patience being tested.

A control panel beeped nearby. Her ears picked up the sound and she watched the lights on the screen switch from red to blue, and then back to their original colours. There was a round, black button to its left. She pushed it.

For the first five seconds, it seemed like nothing had happened. A loud bang was heard from behind her, and she could see that the door had been opened. However, along with it an alarm also came off. The room was flashing between its original white colour and red. The droids awakened.

_It must be some kind of emergency signal,_ she said to herself. It did not make her hesitate, and she ran outside the medical facility, into a hallway. There she had two choices, either go left, or right. She chose right.

All hallways looked the same. She could have sworn she was running in circles if it had not been for the different names the section she passed through had been given. However, after several moments of pointless running, she realized there was nothing she was running from. She had no idea where the medical facility was, but she believed it was far left behind.

After calming down and slowing her paces, she realized she had been wrong. In front of her was a sign. _Medcenter,_ it read. But the doors were now closed, and the alarm had stopped. A feeling of unease passed down her spine, as she heard steps coming. It took her several moments to figure out where they were coming from, but once managed, she hid behind a corner in the opposite direction.

Later came the realisation that those footsteps belonged not only to one person, but two or three. They stopped really close to her, probably in front of the door to the medical centre. She was too afraid to look.

"The prisoner seems to have escaped, Lord Vader." Those words made her freeze instantly. The person who had said it did not concern her, neither the information he had given. Although being considered a prisoner triggered curiosity in her. It was the person whom he was addressing that made her eyes widen and her feet tremble. Vader was there again. Having realised that, she became aware of the sound of his mechanical breathing. His presence was overwhelming her, even though she had not even faced him yet. Somehow, there was something in her head, that made it feel heavier than usual. But she did not let her mental guard down. It was as if he could only sense her existence.

"I know," came his response. "I let her." His answer had taken the former queen by surprise, making her almost gasp. Coming to think of it, he had been the one to free her. But why he would free her was beyond her understanding. "It is only a question of time until she realises she has nowhere to go." And to what purpose? What did it matter for him if she realised or not her own helplessness? She was well aware of that, after all she had been running in circles for the last ten minutes.

"So you do not want us to find her?" the man asked him. His tone was suspicious, which made Lana realise she had not been the only one taken aback by Vader's actions.

But Vader seemed very sure of himself. In fact, he always seemed. He probably always was. Not even when he could barely breathe anymore had he used a different tone. Everyone would always play by his music, whether they wanted or not, and that fascinated Lana. Somehow, he controlled everything.

"_She _found _us_, already."

His voice sounded louder than before. Probably because he was standing right in front of her.

She realised that when she saw the tip of his boots stop in front of her. The woman cast her eyes upward, only to find herself staring into the black orbs of Vader's mask. She coughed a nervous laugh, and felt the atmosphere thicken.

* * *

There she was, standing in front of him. Her mind was strong, and he could not explore too much, but he had felt her presence. However, she showed no sign of fear. The nervous laugh she had let out had only confirmed her lack of fear. Why wasn't she afraid? Why was she laughing? He felt the rage increase in him.

"Do you consider this is a situation worth laughing at?" he questioned. Her expression suffered a sudden change, and the corner of her lips instantly went back to their place.

* * *

His reply had made her feel uneasy. She most certainly did not like to know he was pissed at her, but being a captive was not a great feeling either. "Am I a prisoner?" she inquired, ignoring his question and looking away at the two men who had accompanied him there. They looked back at her, and then switched to watching Vader's reaction.

"Prisoner or not, you must not be setting alarms off."

She arched an eyebrow. _It's as if he's avoiding the answer, _she told herself. He took one step towards her, making a shiver run down her spine. Looking down at her, he slightly tilted his head to the side. She remembered that back on Tatooine, when they had first met, he had done the same move to express his anger. She swallowed, but something was keeping her staring into his mask. It was as if she was trapped into a human tractor beam. She could not move, or think anymore. But she was not afraid.

"I couldn't get out." Her tone showed annoyance, but her eyes had remained wide, as if still in shock. "I wanted to talk to you, but you left before I got to say anything."

Vader stepped back and made signs for the men to leave. They bowed and immediately departed, as if relieved they could walk away from him. She watched them disappear behind the corner, while Vader walked away as well, but in the opposite direction. Undecided, she hesitated for a moment, but eventually ended up following him. She had to almost run to keep up with him.

"What is going to happen to me?" she asked, with a worried voice. "Are you dropping me off on Coruscant? What am I going to do there? Are you making me a senator?" Too many questions constantly popped up in her head, but she figured it was pointless to ask them all at once, so she stopped.

He released some kind of short laugh in pity, if it could be called a laugh. "Senator?" he asked, stopping to turn around to her. The rhetorical question had been put in some sort of amusement. Seeing she would not say anything more, he turned around and continued his path. "You will be sent to Coruscant and nothing more. You are to start a new life there as a simple citizen." She ran faster, trying to reach his shoulder with her fingertips to turn him around, but he only walked faster. It frustrated her, but she could not find any word to protest with. "Consider yourself lucky," he said, sensing her frustration. "I considered killing you at a time."

Lana stopped dead in her tracks, but Vader continuing walking. She sighed and ran after him again. "Why kill me? I have done you no wrong!" she protested, waving her hands in desperation. "I followed every order coming from the Empire during my reign."

"You almost gave away the technical schematics of the Empire's most powerful battle station."

"I protected them with my life!" she spat, as she reached for something inside her dress and threw it after him, hitting him in his shoulder. For some moments, she thought he would kill her instantly for having thrown something at him, but he turned around and extended his arm. The data cube she had thrown rose from the ground and touched his palm. He curled his gloved fingers around it and turned his hand around to examine the object. Meanwhile, she was pondering on what she had just seen. _How did he do that?_

The way he controlled everything was irritating her. She began to feel her uselessness and she tried denying that feeling by taking deep breaths. Alas, they were in vain. But she had protected the data. She had fulfilled her mission, one way or another. And her planet had been sacrificed to save those damned schematics.

After several moments of silence, Vader looked away from the data cube and turned his gaze to the woman now kneeling and staring at the ground. "Pull yourself together," was all he said. She did not answer in any way. "I will take you to your provisory room."

She lifted her head to look at him. But he had already turned around, his cloak swirling behind him. "Damn it!" she whispered to herself, realising she would have to get up and follow him again.

Her room was not anything special. It was plain, and to a former queen it looked ridiculously uncomfortable. However, she was grateful only for staying on that ship for the time being. The thought of starting a new life from zero on Coruscant was upsetting. Vader had left, after telling her he would ponder some more over her fate.

She settled on the edge of her bed and scanned once more the room. There was a comlink left on the side-table, but she decided to study it later.

It seemed no feeling passed through her anymore. She found herself laying in an emotional numbness. In a way or another, there were too many things that were attacking her, so she had just given up fighting back. She let the stones hit her bare body, for she had no power anymore. No power to stand up. No power to have a word to say. There was nobody to talk to, nobody to confess her thoughts to. All her life she had longed for power, and even though she had obtained it, it had not lasted more than three years. Had it been worth it?

No, it had not.

Why was destiny playing with her in such cruel ways?

The air turned suddenly colder, and she felt her head lighten. She felt safe to remove the mental guard that had been put up earlier. She brought her feet on the bed and hugged them, trying to warm herself up, but it was her inside that was freezing. Was she that nobody she had been until Vader found her on Tatooine again? Was it some kind of payback, all this suffering? Had it been a conspiracy? Did the Empire have anything special to do with it? Too many questions ran around in her head again.

After having let out a deep sigh of desperation, Lana rested her forehead on her knees and closed her eyes. The Empire did not care for her, that was clear. The only thing that mattered was the stupid plans she had been sent. She cursed her planet for hosting the best engineers in the galaxy, but then cursed herself more for thinking bad of deceased people. She felt like a child in need of care in the hands of the Empire, having to depend on it again.

Tears started to form in her closed eyes.

No. No, no, no. She would not cry.

A gasp escaped her mouth as she tried to retain the tears. Instead of releasing her grief through crying, she considered using her fists. She punched as hard as she could the mattress. But that did not keep the tears from falling. All those souls on Amalthea, her mother, her father, her people... she felt as if they were pushing her towards a cliff. She was standing at its edge. Falling would mean giving in to emotions and cry her eyes out. But crying her eyes out would mean to weaken. She shook her head; a queen needed to be strong.

But she was no queen anymore.


	5. Chapter 5

**V**

Back in his personal hyperbaric chamber, Darth Vader pondered upon the young woman's future. She presented no interest for him or the Empire, so disposing of her would have been the easiest solution. Rumours that she had died on Amalthea as a prisoner would spread and there would be no mystery about her disappearance. However, leaving her on Coruscant required no special amount of effort, and that was what the Emperor had ordered.

Yes, the Emperor knew she had survived. But for some strange reasons unknown to him, he did not order her death or anything else. Moreover, something about the woman triggered a weird sensation inside him. He felt indebted to her.

_Nonsense, I have already rewarded her for saving my life. That she could not hold on to it is none of my concern._

Her expression when she had found out she would not be given any privileges also intrigued him. It was as if she considered herself superior, as if she thought she deserved something more. Her lack of fear also played a great role in his opinion on her.

Filtered air filled his damaged lungs in an attempt for a deep breath. He despised that chamber, since it reminded him of his lost humanity, but in the same time it was the only place he could retrieve a part of it. It was the only place he did not feel encased anymore. Sometimes he failed to notice it was but a bigger cage, sometimes he ignored it and sometimes he would destroy it in a fit of rage. He decided to ignore it at that moment, as he had more important matters to think about, preferably in the tranquillity of his own sanctuary.

Why didn't the woman feel any fear? Not even the slightest bit... It was hard to distinguish insecurity from fear, but he had read through so many people's minds, there was no feeling he could not identify. And even though Lana Tyree had a strong mind, some feelings were too strong to be kept shut, no matter how powerful you were. Only a true master could hide away all his feelings.

So, she was insecure. That was understandable. She had been taken away from her own world and put into a new, inferior life.

He felt a presence outside his chamber. An arm extended from the top of the chamber to put back his mask and helmet. Escaping air whistled as he turned around and the pod opened. In front of him stood Captain Retzloff.

Retzloff was a short and thin man. Only by looking at him, anybody could figure he was a coward. However, he was intelligent, and if given the time he could make very clever decisions. Vader had noticed that talent when he promoted him to the rank of Captain on his flagship, but found out his easy to scare personality proved out to be more annoying than expected. He would sometimes use mind tricks to ease him of his fear, just to make conversation run faster.

"What is it, Captain?"

"My Lord, RT-1-1,... Squad Leader Daniel Rodan has... been... killed..." Retzloff was scared, and that kept him from finding further words. His gaze was wandering from one corner of the room to another, distracting him. Vader said no word, but waited for the Captain to recover. The information that murder had been committed on his flagship had caught his interest. "By his second in charge, RT-1-2... h-he... has gone mad..., My Lord."

"Bring him to me."

Vader would deal with the rebellious pilot by himself. Usually, these kind of actions revealed treachery, which he was eager to punish. Retzloff bowed and stormed outside the chamber.

* * *

Back in her room, Lana Tyree ended up destroying the comlink left on the table. She felt no need to contact anybody, and in some way it looked ostentatious, as if its only purpose was to remind her she had no one to talk to. In an outburst of anger, she reached out for it and threw it as hard as she could against the blue, metallic-like walls.

Silence made her go mad. After several hours of sitting in her bed and doing absolutely nothing, she realised she could not stand it anymore. The next phase was pacing around the room. However, it eventually stopped as well as she collapsed to her knees in the middle of the room.

The only thing she could appreciate about the room was that it possessed a wide window, through which she could gaze into space, and possibly figure out their location. But she could identify no planet, as they were passing by none. There was something wrong going on, she could feel it. The whole ship was filled with nothing else but darkness, evil. She used to think she was comfortable with it, but its presence became more and more powerful.

Before she could make any order in her thoughts, a heavy knock was heard, followed by the sound of her door opening loudly. She frowned. _Why did you bother knocking if you'd enter anyway? _she thought. A stormtrooper was standing at her threshold.

"What is it?" she furiously spat.

"Lord Vader demands your presence in the main control room."

He immediately left, giving her no chance to protest. "What a way to treat your guests," she whispered to herself. Technically, she was a guest. Former prisoner, but now a guest. She frowned at the complication. The young woman searched though the room's wardrobe for any spare clothes. Knowing she would not have to go anywhere, Lana believed changing from her destroyed clothes could wait until later. She did not expect to be called anywhere.

Much to her disappointment, the only wearable thing she found was a grey, long robe. She covered herself with it and walked out of the room, watching the door automatically close behind her. The stormtrooper from earlier was waiting for her on the other side of she hallway.

With a satisfied smile, she said, "I thought you left."

He bowed his head slightly. "No, milady. Lord Vader has given me clear instructions to guide you to the control room." His tone was completely neutral, and she could not distinguish any emotion out of it. As expected from a clone, after all.

For several minutes, the only thing she could hear was the sound of their feet stepping on the metallic ground. Occasionally, other imperial forces would pass them by. They were all concerned about something, and she started to wonder if it had something to do with Vader requesting her presence. Something bad had happened, she felt it in the air.

The trooper stopped in front of a wide door, and walked to its side. He turned his back to the wall and made her sign to enter, as the door rapidly opened. She stepped forward, and found herself standing on the bridge. At the other end of it, a tall, dark figure was standing, facing the main viewport. She hesitated some moments before continuing her way, as she took notice of the weird stares the other men were giving her.

"You wished to see me, Lord Vader?" she asked.

Vader turned around to face her, leaving his hands to rest on his belt. "Yes, Lana." The dramatic pause he made after speaking her name made her wonder whether addressing her by her name was a sign of superiority or amity.

_Don't be ridiculous,_ she scolded herself.

"It seems that my best pilot has been killed," he said. She swallowed, not knowing what to say. Did she have to fake the fact that she cared? "And as you may or may not know, I am quite picky on my elite."

He paused, as if waiting for her response. It eventually came, as she inquired, "And what does that have to do with me?"

He took one step towards her, as if to intimidate her. She mentally scolded herself again for having been too bold. She was of no importance of anymore, and she had to get used to that. Noticing her retreat, Vader continued, "I remember my first impression on you being rather pleasing. You do posses high skills in piloting, and I have as well sensed a connection with the Force. Combining these two elements, you could prove to be a very important addition."

"I have no connection to the Force... whatever that is," Lana angrily stated. The woman knew she had used the wrong tone again, as she felt her throat starting to burn. Vader lifted two of his fingers in front of her.

"Speak to me in that manner again, and I may even reconsider letting you live." She led her hands to her neck, as if trying to pull away whatever mysterious force was surrounding it, but in vain; he was choking her. "You are no longer a queen, young lady. Mind your behaviour."

He let her go and she fell to her knees instantly, grasping for air. She heard something fall next to her. Still breathing heavily, the young woman reached for whatever it was and analysed it.

"Use this datapad to find your way through the ship to the hangar in two hours. I shall have you tested personally."

She saw the tip of his cloak pass by her and heard his footsteps fading in the distance. He had left her there, on the bridge, almost choked to death. Did he really have no sympathy? Lana sighed at the thought of having to figure him out. He definitely had felt a lot more human when they had first met. He had tried to literally leave her breathless her back then as well, but he had not brought her to her knees back then. Had he really become more and more inhuman as time had passed?

After spending some moments on the floor, she regained her senses and walked out of the control room, back to her own. There she took advantage her free time to remember all the tactics she used to apply while piloting. She had her own ship back on Amalthea, and she used to practice daily. But the thought of being tested by Vader himself made her want to be sure she could live up to anyone's expectations.

As Lana Tyree walked through the hallways to the hangar, she could not help but wonder why she kept thinking of Vader as an old friend, rather than be trembling at the mere mention of his name like everybody appeared to do.

* * *

**A/N:** More details on the crime and much more action in the next chapter!


End file.
